A friend of mine came to town on a short holiday. She has been residing in Australia all these years. We go back a long long way to our requesting time on the radio and a-go-go dancing days in the 60’s and early 70’s. I was away in Kuching when she arrived but when I came back, we did manage to get to meet. She wanted me to take her and her nephew to go and eat the best kampua noodles in town…and of course, I just had to bring them here for the one that I like best.
Both of them had the kampua (white/original) tossed in chili sauce…
…and they loved it! They also shared a bowl of piansip soup…
…between the two of them while I had the Foochow-style fried noodles…
…with dark sauce/gravy. I had this once a long time ago but the kampua lady (who also made the drinks – a one-woman show) was frying it herself then and I did not think it was all that nice and I regretted not sticking to her kampua noodles at the time. I noticed that lately, there is a guy there cooking all the fried stuff so I decided to give it a try and yes, it was pretty good, definitely a lot nicer than what I had before.
We sat there and chatted and gossiped, catching up on old times and news about old friends of ours from around 9.00 a.m. till almost noon. It had been so long and there was really so much to talk about.
The next day, she contacted me again and asked me if I could join her for lunch. I asked her what she wanted to eat and she replied, “Kampua!” *faints* That, however, is very typical of people from here who have been away for a long time, either working in the peninsula or in Singapore or living in any country overseas. When they come home, they would want to go all out and feast on the kampua noodles with a vengeance.
This time around, she said that she wanted to drop by here…
…where there was this guy…
…who used to sell kampua noodles at the coffee shop next to the fire station and later at another one behind HSBC right across the lane from the Singapore Chicken Rice shop there. A new owner moved in from elsewhere and took over the shop bringing along his own kampua seller so this guy had to make way and moved here – in the Sibu bus terminal area, opposite the Public Bank branch there, somewhere between WeCare and Chung Bakeries.
When I was small, I grew up eating the kampua noodles at a stall at one Kiaw Siong Coffee Shop (opposite the one across the road next to the fire station where they moved to later) and the man was called Ah Kow. Then another guy started a beef noodle stall and they called him Ang Kau (monkey) and the little son who helped to serve was nicknamed Kow Kia (puppy). Somewhere along the line, some confusion arose and the younger ones would talk about Ang Kau kampua while we, the older folks, would only be able to recall Ah Kow kampua.
Well, I asked this man for an explanation and that was what he told me, that Ah Kow was Ang Kau and vice versa – all of us were all talking about the one and the same person. If I’m not wrong, this man took over the kampua stall when Ah Kow was forced to retire owing to illness and later passed away…but many would tell you that if you want that same taste of Ah Kow aka Ang Kau kampua, this is the guy to look for! If anyone is interested, the stall opens very early, at around 6.00 a.m. till past noon but it will reopen at around 4.00 pm. till 10.00 p.m.
My friend had the kampua noodles…
…again white/original and tossed with chili sauce. Pssstttt!!!! Don’t tell me I told you but she had TWO plates!!! I could not believe my eyes! Muahahahahaha!!!! But she said that once she had gone back to Australia, she would not have any more kampua noodles to eat until the next time she gets an opportunity to come home. Poor thing! So very deprived!!!
She also shared the piansip soup…
…with her nephew and he had this plate of piansip kampua with dark soy sauce…
It was no-meat Friday for me that day so I ordered something from this stall at the back…
– their fried kway teow with cockles…
It was all right, same as fried kway teow anywhere else in town, the better ones, nothing more and nothing less…but with cockles added.
It certainly is so very nice to see you again, Jasmine…and if you’re tuned in, this song goes out specially to you…
The message is in the song. Take care and God bless always.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 